With the West End and Broadway seeing a recent surge of musicals adapting existing material, whether a franchise can make a good musical is an increasingly relevant problem. Navigating adaptations has become a particularly treacherous pastime, so I’ve put together a list of some of the best (and worst) to keep you straight.
BEST: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Adapted from a Victorian penny dreadful, Sweeney Todd is arguably Sondheim’s magnum opus. It takes everything wrong with its source material (flat characters, a convoluted plot, and a surprising lack of razor-blade-based violence) and refines it into a tight show that balances violence, despair, and humour with amazing dexterity. Sweeney himself is both empathetic and detestable, leaving the audience unable to help not to root for him as he murders his way across London. Sondheim masterfully partners horrifying violence with a bombardment of puns in ‘A Little Priest’ to create one of the standout numbers of the show. Sweeney Todd remains a shining example of how musical theatre can transform its source material.
WORST: Back to the Future
If Sweeney Todd thrives in its divergence from its source material, Back to the Future fails in its adherence. It is a fun time – anything based on the 1985 movie is guaranteed to be – but it never really earns its status as a musical. The original songs fail to leave a lasting impression and tend to sound quite samey by the second act, with only ‘The Power of Love’ ever eliciting much of a reaction. The show does thrive in its set and costume design, recreating America in the 1950s in glorious detail, and audience opinions are likely bolstered by an outstanding set piece in the show’s final moments. But ultimately, Back to the Future relies too heavily on nostalgia, and its desperation to recreate it as closely as possible is ultimately to its detriment.
BEST: Cabaret
Cabaret has had possibly the most convoluted road to its current incarnation: originating as a novel in 1939, then adapted as a play, a musical, a movie musical, and finally as a musical again. The central premise of the show, based in a seedy German nightclub during the fall of the Weimar Republic, allows for some of delightfully immersive staging (London’s Playhouse Theatre is currently enjoying a makeover as the Kit Kat Club) – which only adds to the audience’s feelings of dread and complicity as the Nazi’s grip over Berlin becomes more overt during the second act. Despite the long road to its current form, Cabaret remains as relevant as a cautionary tale now as it did in 1939 – and the connection it makes with every new generation of audiences is a testament to the strength of its story.
WORST: Phantom of the Opera
The most controversial take on this list: after watching Phantom twice I can safely say I do not understand the hype. This isn’t a critique so much of the adaptation itself so much as the production that’s haunted the West End for nearly 40 years. There’s a lingering throughout the show that something is missing – that what felt bombastic in 1986 feels a little stale in 2025. The budget cuts implemented during the Pandemic can be felt, as moments of genuine spectacle in the staging (the reveal of the Phantom’s lair, Masquerade) are undercut by plywood scenery and near-empty stages elsewhere. When combined with a main cast who live and die on the actors playing them, the music is left with a lot of heavy lifting to do. I can’t help but think that Phantom needs to go away for a while so that the ghost of old productions can fade away, and the show can come back with some of the intensity and innovation it was once known for.
Dishonourable Mention: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
What is there left to say about Turn Off the Dark? It’s possibly the most infamous musical in Broadway history – combining the unholy trinity of cast injuries, an incomprehensible plot, and firing your director mid-production. The script evokes a feeling of having thrown anything at the wall to see what sticks, particularly in the quickly scrapped Geek Chorus (you heard me) who narrated pre-rewrites. Add to that an oddly horny Arachne (of Greek mythology fame) and stand-out song ‘A Freak Like Me Needs Company’, and you have a frankly bewildering show. Still, it’s so utterly insane that it’s probably a more enjoyable viewing experience than Phantom.
“Theatre Royal Panorama, Brighton, UK” by Ian Muttoo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.